Overdose Deaths Surge Among Black, Hispanic NJ Residents During COVID

NEW JERSEY — Overdose death rates in the United States increased dramatically in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, according to a new CDC report, particularly among communities of color.

According to CDC data, fatal overdoses increased 30 percent between 2019 and 2020 in more than two dozen states, including New Jersey, as synthetic opioids spread across the country and treatment remained unattainable for millions of Americans.

According to the data, the rise among black residents was double that of white residents, 44 percent to 22 percent. Deaths increased by 39 percent among American Indians and Alaska Natives, 22 percent among Asians and Pacific Islanders, and 21 percent among Hispanics of any race.

According to the CDC data, single-year increases varied significantly by age group. Overdose deaths among Black youth aged 15 to 24 increased by 86 percent — the highest increase in any demographic — and by 55 percent among Black adults aged 25 to 44.

Overdose deaths increased by 51 percent among Hispanics aged 15 to 24, and by 46 percent among those over 65. Young Alaska Natives and American Indians ages 15 to 24 experienced the smallest increase, with an 11 percent increase in overdose deaths.

The CDC report highlights how the opioid epidemic has spread from predominantly white rural areas into communities of color. "Higher drug use has been reported in areas with more economic distress, which increases the risk for fatal overdose. Further, impacts of income inequality (e.g., housing instability, transportation access, and insurance status), long-standing mistrust in the health care system, stigma, and bias contribute to treatment access barriers," the report said,

The report discovered that black people were less than half as likely as white people to have received substance abuse treatment. And, in areas with more opioid treatment programs, opioid overdose rates were even higher than in areas with less treatment availability, particularly among Black, American Indian and Alaska Native people.

"Importantly, these painful experiences and the impact of COVID-19 are felt, most severely, in communities of color—communities that have experienced disproportionate case counts and deaths, and where the social impact of the pandemic has been most extreme. Yet, the disparities seen over the past year were not a result of COVID-19. Instead, the pandemic illuminated inequities that have existed for generations and revealed for all of America a known, but often unaddressed, epidemic impacting public health: racism," said Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overdose deaths in New Jersey have been increasing for years, but they spiked early in the pandemic, despite efforts by substance-use providers to continue providing care during the pandemic lockdown.

According to state records, 3,050 people are suspected of dying as a result of an overdose in 2020.

Fear, anxiety, and loneliness caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been diagnosed in nearly 2.6 million New Jerseyans, more than 34,000 of whom have died as a result, have had a profound impact on people's mental health, according to experts.

Those patterns can be seen in hospital data from New Jersey.

According to a review of New Jersey emergency department hospital claims, between April and Dec. 2020, the proportion of those under the age of 18 presenting with a primary or secondary diagnosis of anxiety increased by roughly 74 percent compared to the same period in 2019, while depression disorders increased by more than 84 percent.

People of color, who already face barriers to accessing mental health services and have disproportionately high COVID-19 case and death rates, are also a particularly vulnerable population for negative mental and behavioral health outcomes, the review said.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics/Latinos reported anxiety and/or depressive symptoms in the Dec. 2020 Household Pulse survey compared to white Americans.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted long-neglected disparities in access to and provision of health care among American Indian, Alaska Native, Black, and Hispanic persons. The findings in this report underscore the increasing impact of the escalating overdose crisis on these populations. More stigmatization, criminalization, and lack of access to evidence-based treatments among racial/ethnic minority groups with substance use disorders have been well-documented," the report said.